The text set for today’s reading and meditation (the key verse is highlighted):

Amos 3:3-6 (NIVUK): “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?

Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?

Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there? Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?

When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?”

Selwyn starts by saying: “As we were reminded yesterday, great gifts demand great accountability. With special revelation comes more searching scrutiny.” … As Amos tells his people: “The disaster that will befall Israel is as certain as the purposes of the God behind it. Don’t you see, says Amos, it all adds up. Sin plus God equals judgment – even for God’s people.”

Today’s conclusion is worth thinking about: “There are no coincidences for God’s people. Even the calamites that befall them, fall within the bounds of God of God’s permitted purpose for them. We may even find here the buried treasure of God’s strange mercy for us, as David concluded, it is better to fall into the hands of a merciful God in judgment than into the hands of merciless men (2 Samuel 24:14).”

I have come to the same conclusion – even though I have terminal cancer – what has happened to me is within the bounds of God’s permitted purposes. The main purpose – that relates to me (as far as I can discern) is that my refinement – the transformation of my likeness into the likeness of Jesus – has been greatly accelerated through the power of His Holy Spirit. So, I praise God for such a special blessing!